


Just Out of Touch

by ClaraLicht



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: BAMF Reader, Bully Flash Thompson, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Field Trip, Harley Keener & Peter Parker Friendship, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker's Field Trip to Stark Industries, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Stark!Reader, check out my tumblr for the badge designs, decathlon team - Freeform, it's my birthday!, kind of dialogue heavy, so have a celebratory fic from myself :D
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24194914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaraLicht/pseuds/ClaraLicht
Summary: Midtown’s Academic Decathlon team managed to score a field trip to the one and only Stark Industries Headquarter located in Stark Tower, leaving behind a Peter Parker who was not allowed to join due to "faking" documents regarding Stark Industries internship. In a strike of fortune (or unluckiness) for the team, they had Tony Stark’s own daughter to guide their tour. And she wasnothappy.or;A pissed off (Y/n) lost a bet and had to guide Peter's decathlon team on a field trip without Peter knowing. What could ever go wrong?
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Reader, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker/Reader, Tony Stark & Peter Parker, Tony Stark & Reader
Comments: 8
Kudos: 378
Collections: peter parker and his field trips





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been wanting to write a field trip trope with Stark!reader for so long! I promised a certain someone to finally post this on my birthday, and here it is~ This whole story (part 1 and 2) is around 12k words, so I decided to split this into 2. I’ll post the next one next week.

Ned could _not_ be happier.

Okay that's a lie, but he was really excited and nothing else really mattered right now.

That was actually another lie.

"Why do you look like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're constipated."

Ned's face scrunched up at MJ's nonchalant words. "I'm not! I'm just excited!"

MJ looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow.

"…and a bit nervous, I guess."

MJ kept silently staring at him.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…okay fine, I'm worried about Peter!"

As if saying Peter's name was a spell to summon him, Flash suddenly appeared with a big, mocking grin. "Parker ditched, huh? Should've known, we're about to uncover his secret, after all."

Ned and MJ rolled their eyes, already used to Flash's insistence of proving that ' _there's no way Penis Parker has an internship in Stark Industry, I don't even qualify, let alone him!_ '.

"He's not ditching, he just has other things to do!" Ned said, knowing that telling Flash that the internship was real would be meaningless.

"Go away already, Eugene. Your yapping is hurting my brain and I need it for the decathlon, unlike you, first alternate."

"W-Wha-"

"Mr. Thompson! Please sit down, the bus will be moving soon!" Mr. Harrington called out from the front of the bus.

Grumbling, Flash gave the two stink eyes before finally leaving them to his own seat. The bus took off only a few minutes afterwards.

"So why is he not here, actually?" MJ asked, eyes never leaving her book.

Ned sighed, "He's not allowed to go, a punishment for _lying_ , according to the school."

"Lying? About the internship?"

"Yeah. Peter told me that Principal Morita berated him for spreading rumors about a fake internship and submitting fake documents, saying there's no way someone like Tony Stark would personally sign an internship document for a high schooler or that he would be an emergency contact for someone unrelated to him."

"Such documents would have numbers to call in case of forgeries and misuse. No one bothered to call?"

He just shrugged. "It's high school, man. No one believes a nobody teenager who said their emergency contact is one of the most influential man in the world."

"Right, how can I forget how idiotic the system is?" MJ scoffed, rolling her eyes.

* * *

As the bus pulled up to the tall tower in front of them, nearly everyone in the bus gawked at the view outside.

Stark Industries Headquarter located in the previously Avengers Tower really was a sight to behold.

Mr. Harrington ushered the students inside and approached the receptionist, leaving the students to marvel at the interior of the building.

The lobby's ceiling was high and seemed to be glowing softly with several pillars supporting them. On the far east was a café bustling with activities, employees and visitors getting their dose of morning coffee. On the west was glass sliding doors leading to a waiting room. There were three reception stations with entrance to elevators in between where there were lines of people waiting to go through the scanner and swipe their badges. Sofas and tables were placed on strategic locations.

In fact, they could see some men in suits on those sofas who were deep in discussion.

"Welcome to Stark Industries, may I help you?" The receptionist smiled professionally.

"Uh, yes, we're from Midtown High School, here for the 9 AM tour?"

"Let me check for a moment…" She started typing quickly on the computer. "Midtown School of Science and Technology, one teacher and 14 students?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you are Mr. Roger Harrington?"

"Yes."

"Your tour guide will be down here in a moment. In the meantime, one of our interns will show you to our designated waiting room and give you your passes. Anything else I can help you with?"

"That's all, thank you."

"You're welcome. Enjoy your tour."

As Mr. Harrington went back to the students, a young man who couldn't be that much older than them with golden brown hair and a box in his hands walked towards them. A metallic blue badge with silver sheen was hanging from a lanyard around his neck.

"Hello, Midtown! My name is Harley Keener, one of the interns here in Stark Industries. I'm not your tour guide though, she'll be along in a moment, but for now I will show you the waiting room where you can leave your belongings. We have a lot of strict rules here and one of them is tour participants aren't allowed to bring, well, basically anything."

A chorus of protests started.

"What if a relative called with important news?"

"Not even _a notebook_?!"

"How about our lunch then?"

"Ugh, I get thirsty frequently…"

"I promised my followers to bring them to this field trip!"

"Alright, calm down, everyone! Let's listen to Mr. Keener, okay!"

Harley flashed a gratuitous smile at the intervention.

"Let's go to the waiting room before I explain further, shall we?"

He led the group to the glass sliding doors on the west side of the reception, flashing his card on the sensor. He let everyone in before getting in himself.

"Welcome to the waiting room! You can see some lockers behind you, that's where you'll be leaving your belongings. The key to open them will be your temporary badges which I have here," he gestured at the box he held, "so all you have to do is scan your badge and they will unlock the locker. They lock immediately after you close the door and only one badge can open one locker."

Sally raised a hand, "Um, Mr. Keener?"

"Yes?"

"Do we really have to leave everything here?"

"Not exactly…" Harley hummed, "You're allowed to bring your phone and wallet, but there are areas in the building where you're not allowed to use your phones. Lunch will be provided for you, as your badges have allowance inside to be used in our cafeteria, courtesy of SI. Every floor has a fully stocked kitchenette every 50 meters and they're free for all, so if you're thirsty or in the mood for snacking, no need to worry. Just make sure to inform your tour guide first because some areas prohibit any kind of food and beverage, like the labs."

Satisfied with the answer, Sally thanked him.

"Oh, and it's Harley, not Mr. Keener, that was my dad. I'm your age, no need to be that formal!" He grinned.

"Wait, you're our age?!" Flash exclaimed.

"Yeah, 16 years old and counting."

"And you're an intern here?!" Flash asked in disbelief.

"Yep, amazing, huh?"

"There's no way-"

The door suddenly opened, cutting Flash's words short. A girl with (h/c) hair walked in, her face grim and a frown etched on her forehead.

The whole room froze.

"Why don't they have their badges yet?" She asked, her tone almost snapping. The students flinched back from the unexplained hostility, but Harley only grinned.

"We were just talking about locker rules!"

Her frown deepened, "You talk about lockers for _that_ long? What the hell, Harley?"

Harley laughed, "Someone's moody this morning."

She glared, but Harley only continued laughing.

"Alright, alright. When I call your name, come collect your badge, okay?"

No one answered, still staring at the girl in shock.

"Avril, Sally."

"Brant, Betty."

"Brown, Abraham."

"Cooper, Zach.

"Corbyn, Tyler."

"Ionello, Jason."

"Jones, Michelle."

"Leeds, Edward."

"Monette, Yasmin."

"Moon, Cindy."

"Murphy, Charles."

"Scarino, Josh."

"Thompson, Eugene."

"Williams, Zoha."

"And lastly, the teacher, Harrington, Roger."

"That's everyone, so now please put all of your belongings in the lockers. Remember, you can only bring your phone and wallet. Afterwards come gather here again so you can start your tour!"

Mr. Harrington and the students started shuffling towards the lockers quickly, wanting to start the tour as soon as possible. They kept stealing glances at the girl beside Harley, though.

MJ nudged Ned who was basically vibrating with energy.

"Ned, stop jittering."

"I can't help it! What if she's our tour guide?! How _cool_ is that, MJ!"

"Very cool. Now calm down and put your stuff away."

When they gathered at the front of the room again, Harley spoke, "Alright guys, that's all the time with me! This is your tour guide and she'll take over now. Have a great tour!" He waved and quickly left the room. Everyone was sure they heard muffled giggle from him, but no one said anything.

For a moment, the room was deadly silent, with the girl assessing them with narrowed eyes.

"U-Uh, Miss? Will we start the tour now…?" Mr. Harrington hesitantly asked.

The girl huffed, "Fine."

She pulled out her badge from her lab coat pocket, letting everyone see the red and gold card glinting under the artificial light.

"My name is (y/n) Stark, though I think you all know that already, and unfortunately I lost a bet, so I have to guide this tour for you."

Immediately the room was filled with hushed whispers.

Who doesn't know (y/n) Stark?

The only daughter of the infamous Anthony Edward Stark who the public had known for less than 4 years. One day Tony suddenly called for a press conference and told the world that he had a daughter that nobody knew about before, disclosing no other details aside from her name, age, and that she was his flesh and blood. (Y/n) quickly rose to fame as she apparently inherited her father's brain and managed to put her name in several Stark Industries groundbreaking inventions at her young teen age, mainly focusing on health and medical technology. She already had numerous patents under her name and Tony never shied away from boasting about his daughter's intelligence. Rumors were all around the youngest Stark but no one had confirmed anything. She was surrounded by mystery and no one really knew anything about her.

Ned and MJ, however, being friends with the only intern of Tony Stark who had worked with her, had heard a lot of second-hand mundane information about the girl.

Like how she _hated_ crowds.

* * *

_"Hey."_

_"…Hi."_

_"Why are you here alone?"_

_(Y/n) sighed and leaned towards the balcony. "It's really crowded in there. It's kinda suffocating."_

_Peter hummed in understanding. He walked towards (y/n) and stood beside her, feeling the chill breeze of the night. "Aren't you cold?" He asked, glancing at her short-sleeved thin red dress._

_The young Stark chuckled, "It doesn't really bother me. What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you, I don't know, shadow dad or something?"_

_"Eh, it's boring."_

_"You're his intern, bear with it." (Y/n) said dryly._

_He laughed, not surprised that she knew about him being Tony's intern. "How about you? Shouldn't the heiress mingle around?"_

_"Well," (y/n) straightened her back, "fuck those people. I hate crowds, but I hate fake people with hidden motives even more."_

_Peter barked out another laugh. "My name is Peter Parker, by the way."_

_"I know. Dad talked a lot about you," (y/n) sipped the fruity drink she had on her hand, "and do you really think he was the one who found out about Spider-Man?"_

* * *

(Y/n) heaved a huge sigh and massaged her temple.

"Anyway, ground rules. You go where I go, don't stray from the group, don't take your phones out unless I said you're allowed to, have your badge visible at all times, and don't touch anything unless an employee or I said you're allowed to. Break any of these rules and I'll have security escort you out." She said decisively, eyes glaring at some of them who seem uncomfortable.

"Harley probably already told you this, but we have a lot of kitchenettes here and they're always fully stocked. If you need a drink or anything, just tell me. Mind the time though, we have a packed schedule, so make good use of every break. Understand?"

A chorus of yes sounded.

"After this we'll go through security check before getting inside the elevator. Just scan your badge before passing through. Any question?"

Charles raised a hand, "Why is Harley's badge blue while yours is red? Ours are clearly temporary, but is there a meaning to the color?"

(Y/n) hummed, seemingly approving the question before answering, "You're right about that. There are levels of security and clearance. Your badges are, as you said, temporary badges and they only have _Visitor_ instead of names." She gestured at the large V on their badges.

"We call those White Badge. You must return your badge after you retrieve your belongings, as we have strict no-reprint policy here. Aside from Visitor, we also have one for Press. People with white badges can only go where their guides go. Guides are usually interns or employees from Public Relations department, though it can change based on who the visitors are. Interns have half-white half-dark blue badges, employees have dark blue badges. All badges have their photo, name, department, and job title."

"So that means everyone has the same color?"

"Yeah, security reasons or something. They have barcodes and chips inside anyway, so it's really just to identify whether you're an intern or full employee."

"Miss Stark?" Betty raised a hand. "You mentioned levels of clearance. Can you tell us what they are?"

"Interns have 3 levels, they indicate how long they've been interning here and how much they can access, like labs and rooms and stuff. Level 1 interns are usually just starting out and Level 3 interns are what I would say almost-employee. Most of the interns here are Level 2. Level 3's are usually team leaders. They're most likely to be promoted to full-employee soon. Employees have 5 levels, ranging from staff to directors. The higher the level is, the more someone can access. It also depends on their department too, so a Level 5 Marketing Department employee still can't access some R&D labs without permission, for example."

(Y/n) stopped and glanced at her watch, "We should get going. I have other things I need to do and this bet is the only thing stopping me right now, so let's just hurry up. Come on!"

She opened the door and started leaving, letting everyone else follow her. Flash hurried up and pushed Ned out of the way, wanting to be in the front and close to the youngest Stark.

"You okay?" asked MJ, offering a hand to Ned who had fallen from the hard push while giving Flash a stink eye.

"Yeah…"

They quickly arrived in front of what looked like a metal scanner.

"Scan your badge on that scanner plate and just go through. If you have any suspicious items, we will know, so you better have left everything in your lockers."

After everyone went through, (y/n) walked in without scanning her badge as a voice spoke out of nowhere, startling the group.

" _Welcome back, Lady Stark._ "

"What was that?" Someone asked.

"Something my oh-so-dear father should really stop." (Y/n) grumbled, not answering further.

Ned suppressed a grin as he thought that the voice must have belonged to Tony's own AI, FRIDAY. Peter once told him that Tony purposely make FRIDAY acknowledge (y/n) and him whenever they went through a scanner after a prank, knowing how they disliked being announced to anyone in the facility.

* * *

_"PETER PARKER YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"_

_"IT'S (Y/N)'S IDEA NOT MINE!"_

_"HOW DARE YOU THROW ME UNDER THE BUS LIKE THAT, PARKER!"_

_"STOP BICKERING AND GET HERE NOW, BOTH OF YOU!"_

_Peter and (y/n) snickered at Tony's red face._

_(Y/n) had been tinkering with a small bot that didn't look any different from a tarantula. It was big and covered with fuzzy hair, didn't make any whirring noise, and surprisingly warm to the touch. At first, she developed it to be part of Peter's Spider-Man suit and equip it with different reconnaissance or defense tech, but it was too big for Peter to carry around without alarming anyone, unlike the drone on his chest._

_Peter then had the genius idea to use the bot that he affectionately called DUST (Defense Unit and Surveillance Technology) to sneak on Tony. (Y/n), of course, agreed. When Tony was in his lab, drinking his usual coffee while reading through some blueprints, (y/n) used DUST's wireless control to send the bot slowly crawling from Tony's leg to his neck._

_The moment Tony noticed the furry little thing tickling his neck he screamed like a baby, dropped his mug, splattered the warm liquid all over his shirt, and threw DUST away as fast as he could._

_Needless to say, he was not amused when he heard (y/n) and Peter laughing hysterically at his panic._

* * *

Ned still found it fascinating how his best friend was living this kind of world. He pranked Iron Man and got away only with his AI announcing his name whenever he passed through? Awesome!

_(Truth is that wasn't the only punishment Peter and (y/n) suffered. They were banned from the lab for nearly two weeks and had only been granted access again because Tony needed them for Peter's suit upgrade, but Peter neglected to tell this to his best friend.)_

(Y/n) led them to a big elevator and let everyone in again before her.

"The Museum, please."

" _Right away, Lady Stark._ "

"Why is your badge red?" Flash asked suddenly, leaning against the wall of the elevator with arms crossed.

(Y/n) side-eyed him, unimpressed, with a raised eyebrow. "You're from a STEM school. Figure it out yourself."

Flash blinked in surprise as Jason patted his shoulder, "Dude, she's the daughter of the owner of this building. You really think she would have employee badge?"

"Yeah, man. What if she actually owns some of this industry too?" Josh muttered.

(Y/n) scoffed, "Glad to know some of you knows how to use logic. Do you really think my dad or our CEO, Pepper Potts would have the same badge? You should have known that my dad's ego is bigger than that, it's all over the news."

The elevator dinged and the door opened. (Y/n) quickly strutted out, leaving the flabbergasted group behind her.

"She's… Tony Stark's daughter, right…? Why would she, uh, _diss_ her own father publicly like that?" Ned heard someone mumbled.

"Never mind that, what kind of tour guide attitude is that?!" Flash exclaimed, face red between embarrassment and anger.

"What are you doing still there? Hurry up! I told you that you must go where I go, didn't I!"

"S-Sorry!"

They exited the elevator and approached a glaring (y/n) who had her arms crossed and fingers tapping, clearly irritated.

"Look, when I move, _you move_. If you're left behind, your badge won't get you anywhere and security will be alerted if in 10 minutes you're not in the same room or within 50m to me and they'll escort you back to the waiting room where you will stay for the rest of this tour. Do you want that?"

Some hesitantly shook their head, while others just looked terrified at the thoughts of being left behind.

"Excuse me, miss Stark?" Mr. Harrington called out.

"Yes?"

"What if one of my students needed to have bathroom break?"

"We have a lot of restrooms here. You won't ever be more than 50m apart from me if that's the case. Any other question?"

"No, that's all. Thank you."

(Y/n) turned around and started walking as the group hurriedly followed her. No one wanted to miss out on this exclusive tour that the school somehow managed to arrange. Not even their guide's snappy attitude would make them miss it.

They walked past a reception table where (y/n) had nodded to a young lady sitting on it to a relatively empty hall with huge Stark Industries logo on its wall. Beneath the logo were block letters spelling out "HALL OF HEROES". There were two glass doors on each side of the logo, both closed. The group could see pass the clear glass to what looked like exhibits.

"This is the Hall of Heroes, as my dad called it. It used to simply be The Museum, but since this tower was an Avengers Tower, he added some Stark Industries unrelated exhibits there, thus the change of name. Inside we will see the history of this company from Howard Stark's leadership until now. After all the history and inventions exhibits, we will see the newest addition, the reason why it is now called Hall of Heroes. Any guess?"

Betty raised a hand, "Is it because of the Avengers?"

"Correct."

The group erupted in excited mumblings. Nobody had known about this part, not even Stark Industries' website said anything about Avengers museum!

"An Avengers museum kind of thing? Why don't anyone know about that before?" Flash frowned.

"We just finished the whole thing. My dad's personal intern pitched in the idea a few weeks ago and my dad is immediately sold on it." (Y/n)'s expression softened. "A huge hero fanboy, that intern is." She said fondly.

Ned had to hold in his delighted giggle when he realized that (y/n) was talking about his best friend Yoda-style.

* * *

_"Why do you like this series so much?"_

_"It's the best series in the whole world, (y/n)! You'll know when you watch it!"_

_"I've watched the original trilogy already, the one with Harrison Ford in it."_

_"Then you should've known!"_

_She laughed at his excited face. "Calm down, you golden retriever. I still don't understand why you're so in love with it."_

_He smiled brightly. "Watch the entire series with me?"_

_"Hmm, should I?"_

_"Aw, come on, (y/n)! It's only 9 movies!"_

_"_ Only _9 movies? Really?"_

_"We've had longer marathons before."_

_"True, true. I guess watch the entire series with you, I shall."_

_"Wise choice, my young padawan!"_

* * *

Peter had excitedly told Ned how he watched the entire Star Wars series, from the prequel, original, and sequel, with (y/n) and how (y/n) could keep up with his rapid theory discussions.

_"Her favorite characters are Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn, isn't that adorable?"_

_"Uhh what part of that is adorable again?"_

Ned shook his focus back to reality where (y/n) was telling them how long they would be on that floor.

"I'll be guiding you through the Stark exhibit, but after that you'll have free time to explore the Avengers part. Pay attention to the time and gather back here before the time is up or I'll leave you."

She then pushed the glass door open, leading the group to their first stop of the tour.

"Stark Industries is a multinational industrial company and the largest tech conglomerate in the world. Founded in 1940 by Howard Stark, he ran the company from its inception up until his death in 1991, after which Obadiah Stane was appointed interim CEO. Tony Stark officially assumed the position shortly after at the age of 21." (Y/n) droned out monotonically, gesturing at several pictures and plaques.

"Under Tony Stark's control, our company flourished financially for nearly two decades. However, he found out that Stane was selling our weapons to terrorist groups around the world after his incident in Afghanistan, and he shut down their lucrative weapons division. In 2010, Pepper Potts was appointed the CEO due to his health concerns, but she remains the CEO even until he recovered."

As (y/n) continued explaining, they walked through the brief explanations written and old inventions.

"Miss Stark, is it true that Obadiah Stane was a terrorist as well?"

"He assisted terrorists, so that make him one himself. Of course, he was no match to Iron Man, but aren't we glad that that scumbag is gone." (Y/n) rolled her eyes.

They breezed through the Stark exhibit quickly and finally arrived at the Avengers museum. The first thing they saw was the big "A" and the original six Avengers silhouette underneath.

"This is the Avengers museum. Each Avengers have their own exhibit and it's listed from the earliest to the newest Avengers, including honorary ones. I'm not going to guide your tour here and explain things, I'm sure you know a lot already, that would be a waste of time. Each exhibit has brief explanations as well so you can read them yourself. You're free to roam around this room, just go to the entrance before the time is up."

Ned raised his hand, "Won't we be more than 50 meters apart from you? This hall is huge!"

(Y/n) nodded, "That's right, but this floor is exempted from that rule because this is a museum after all. As long as I'm in the same floor, it's fine. Just make sure you're not late later or you won't be able to leave."

With that, the group cheered and dispersed, each of them quickly going to whichever Avenger they were a fan of. Ned and MJ started from the first one on the line, which was Captain America.

"I'm amazed Stark still has Captain America's exhibit here after what happened." MJ commented.

"He's still a founding member of Avengers, MJ! But what he did was pretty shitty, though."

"Hm."

While the group was exploring the exhibits, (y/n) moved to a secluded corner and picked up her phone (a slick black StarkPhone still on prototype stage) to see a few text message notifications popping up on the screen.

 _arachnophobia: (y/n) (y/n) where are you_ (09.47 AM)

 _arachnophobia: I finally finished installing venom injector to DUST!_ (09.47 AM)

 _arachnophobia: although I might have messed up the heat sensor a little bit_ (09.48 AM)

 _arachnophobia: (y/n) why aren't you answering_ (09.57 AM)

 _arachnophobia: you're not still asleep are you_ (09.59 AM)

 _arachnophobia: hmm your room is empty though_ (10.00 AM)

(Y/n) chuckled at the messages. Peter didn't know that she was guiding his school's tour in the Tower. She knew that he wasn't allowed on the field trip for 'lying' and she was going to spend the whole day with him on the lab until that dreaded bet ruined that plan, hence why she'd been so grouchy with the group.

_ironlady: dad gave me a job ugh_

_ironlady: apparently having the name Stark means I have to do things for Stark Industries, who would have guessed?_

Not even a minute later, Peter replied.

_arachnophobia: what?! he gave Princess Stark a JOB?! in STARK industries?!!!_

_arachnophobia: HOW COULD HE_

(Y/n) bit her lower lip to hold back her laugh.

_ironlady: I knowww this is so boring_

_arachnophobia: what's the job??_

_ironlady: a presentation or something_

_ironlady: I'm stuck here the whole day :(_

_arachnophobia: oh no poor princess :(_

_arachnophobia: want me to rescue you?_

_arachnophobia: I bet I can annoy Mr. Stark enough to get what I want_

_ironlady: I don't doubt that, spidey_

_ironlady: it's fine, I'll just suffer a bit_

_ironlady: sorry I can't ruin dad's lab with you today_

_arachnophobia: :((((_

_arachnophobia: will I see you later?_

_ironlady: yep, you're still staying tonight, right?_

_arachnophobia: yeah, May's still out of town_

_ironlady: I'll bake you some brownies later_

_arachnophobia: you're the best (y/n)!_

_arachnophobia: hey can you spare some time to eat lunch with your favorite spider later_

_arachnophobia: asking for a friend_

_ironlady: I think I can sneak upstairs for lunch_

_ironlady: yeah I'll definitely sneak upstairs_

_ironlady: I better go now though, see you later_

_arachnophobia: see you at lunch!_

(Y/n) pocketed her phone and heaved a sigh. She couldn't wait for the tour to be over and join Peter on the lab.

* * *

Ned was reading Scarlet Witch's biography when MJ tugged on his sleeve and pulled him away.

"You'll want to see this one."

They passed Quicksilver's memorial exhibit and several others before MJ stopped in front of a familiar red and blue hero.

"No way!" Ned exclaimed, eyes wide in excitement, "He didn't tell us he has one displayed too!"

In front of them was an imitation suit of Queen's local superhero with a huge hologram displaying various shoots of him. Spider-Man's exhibit was quite different from the rest of the Avengers. Instead of his real name and date of birth under his hero name, it said " _Friendly Neighborhood Hero_ ". While others had brief history written on their plaques and holograms, Spider-Man's exhibit had the year he became the hero he was now and his motivation. Still, keeping up with the rest of the heroes, his exhibit also displayed several harmless fun facts.

Ned snickered as he read a fact out loud, " _His favorite non-Avengers partner is Hecate, and they've been caught doing patrols together._ Why does it sound like they were caught grinding each other on a back alley or something?"

"That's impossible, he's too much of a chicken to do it."

"True, true." He nodded in agreement. Peter may be his best friend, but he _knew_ that boy well. Peter was just too shy.

Besides, he never said anything about Hecate when he told them his Spider-Man stories.

"Wait," MJ squinted, "when did he refuse to be an official Avenger?" She muttered in disbelief as she read what the holograms displayed in front of her. "Isn't that dumbass in love with the concept of being an actual Avenger?"

Ned frowned, "I don't know, he never said anything about being offered anyway…"

"He thought it was a test."

Ned turned his head so fast MJ thought he might have a whiplash. She turned as well, slowly unlike her friend, and saw their tour guide looking at the holographic videos in front of them.

"A test?" MJ asked when Ned was too busy being speechless.

(Y/n) hummed, eyes never leaving the holograms. "Dad offered the position after the Vulture incident and he refused, saying somebody's got to look out for the little guys. He thought it was a test since he just had his suit taken away." She explained, ending with a chuckle.

MJ raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask further.

"M-Miss Stark!" Ned finally exclaimed. His best friend might be close to the youngest Stark, but he sure as hell didn't and meeting one of the brightest minds of their generation was something to be excited about! And Iron Man's daughter, nonetheless!

(Y/n)'s nose scrunched slightly. She still felt weird being called so formally by someone her age, but formality required it. She wasn't there to make friends.

* * *

_Even without his Spidey-senses, Peter could feel (y/n)'s stare burning his back. She had been glaring at him for a few minutes now, giving him no answer when he asked if something was wrong._

_That was how Tony found the two; Peter messing around with his suit's schematics while (y/n) sat on the couch behind him, glaring at the brunette while nursing a mug of hot chocolate._

_"Why are you looking at him like that?"_

_(Y/n) turned her heated stare to her had who immediately flinched. "Isn't he the same age as me?" She finally said._

_"Yeah?" Tony replied, scratching the back of his head._

_"Then why does he keep calling me Miss Stark like I'm so much older than him? Do I_ look _that old?"_

_Silence fell upon the room as Peter felt a bead of cold sweat slid down his neck._

_DANGEROUS TERRITORY, his senses screamed at him._

_Peter already learned his lesson when it comes to a woman's age through May, thank you very much. Never asked and assumed a woman's age. Never._

_Especially if you end up saying they were older than their actual age. Different story if you said they looked younger, but then again that wouldn't work with teenage because they didn't want to be 'a kid'._

_So yes, Peter was in conflict about how to answer (y/n)._

_Thankfully, Tony quickly answered and saved him from the trepidation, "That's because he's polite, kiddo. You're basically his superior here even if you're the same age."_

_"But we've known each other outside work too."_

_"That's how formality works."_

_(Y/n) frowned, clearly unhappy with that answer. "Pepper calls you Tony. Aren't you her superior too? She may be CEO, but you still own SI."_

_"She's also my fiancé, you know. She will be a Stark too."_

_"And how about Happy?"_

_"He's a close friend, like Rhodey."_

_"Ha!" (Y/n) was suddenly behind Peter and put a hand on his shoulder, surprising him enough. "Peter! Aren't you my friend?"_

_Peter blinked a few times, "Um… Yes? At least I hope I am? Wait, I am, right? Unless you don't want me to be your friend because it's also fine, it's your choice and-"_

_(Y/n) rolled her eyes so hard Tony thought they might stay that way._

_"Of course you are, dumbass. You're my friend, which means you don't have to be so formal with me. Just call me (y/n), for God's sake."_

_"Good luck with that, kid. I've been telling him to call me Tony for ages."_

_Peter grinned, "Okay, (y/n)."_

_"HOW IS SHE (Y/N) ALREADY WHILE I'M STILL MISTER STARK?!"_

* * *

"Can I ask something Avengers-related?" Ned asked, eyes bright as he looked at (y/n) hopefully.

(Y/n) nodded.

Ned's eyes got impossibly brighter. MJ had to grab his shoulder to ground him before he could jump up and down from shaking too much.

"Do you know who Hecate is?" He asked excitedly. "This said Pete- I mean, Spider-Man patrols with them frequently, but nobody really knows about Hecate! Her suit looks Stark-made, just like Spider-Man's, and-" Ned continued blabbering in excitement, not noticing (y/n)'s dark look when he mentioned that name.

MJ did notice.

She slapped a hand on her friend's mouth immediately. "I'm sorry if he makes you uncomfortable, he's just a little… Excited." MJ apologized.

(Y/n) glowered slightly at Ned who shrank back.

"There's only one thing you should know about Hecate." She said slowly, dark expression never leaving her face.

"They're a _menace_."

(Y/n) straightened her back and turned around. "Time is almost up, you should start making your way out." She said, quickly leaving Peter's friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your enthusiasm in this story! I really didn’t expect this to take off like it did! I hope you can enjoy this one, although I think this chapter might be a little confusing and rushed, especially the ending. As promised, I posted the badges’ designs used in this story on my Tumblr, so check it out by clicking [here](https://clara-licht.tumblr.com/post/618675160116068352) or just go to my Tumblr @clara-licht if you’re interested.

Ned looked at MJ, confused. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure." MJ frowned. She glanced at Hecate's exhibition next to Spider-Man's.

Despite being acquainted to Spider-Man, the public knew little to nothing about the vigilante called Hecate. They just showed up out of nowhere one day, focusing mainly on kidnapping cases. Unlike Spider-Man, medias never really said anything incriminating against them, seeing as all they did was found kidnappers, beat them, and returned the children to police stations.

Police officers were wary due to their violent nature against the kidnappers. They always made sure the criminals were beaten half to death. Public supported them, saying kidnappers deserve it, so law enforcers couldn't really do anything.

Yet it seems that (y/n) had something against the hero.

Once everyone was gathered and Mr. Harrington finished his headcount, (y/n) led them back to the elevator, asking FRIDAY to take them to 25th floor.

(Y/n) blinked as something dawned on her, " _Merda_ , I forgot to explain about the tower before the Museum." She clicked her tongue, irritated. "This is why we have interns to do tour!" She grumbled.

The students glanced at each other, confused and unsure about what to do. They didn't want to upset their guide (more than she already was anyway) by saying something they probably shouldn't.

The elevator dinged and they exited. Instead of a reception table like the Hall of Heroes, they were met with cubicles upon cubicles.

"An office?" Flash scoffed, "What are we going to see here? How to sell a phone?"

(Y/n) turned to look at him with a heated glare that made him flinched, "That's _exactly_ what you're going to see. What, do you think an industry can survive only with R&D? Do you even know how real life works?" She snapped venomously, eyes glowing dangerously.

"I'm sorry for his attitude, Miss Stark." Mr. Harrington hurriedly intervened, pushing Flash behind him. "He's just a bit too excited to see the labs, you know, coming from a science school and all…"

Thankfully, a middle-aged woman came and interrupted before (y/n) could possibly curse Flash out. "Welcome to Stark Industries' Marketing Department!" She greeted them with a cheerful grin. "My name is Sarah Keynes and I'm Public Relations Officer! Midtown High School, right?"

"Yes, they're from Midtown. I assume the presentation is ready, Mrs. Keynes?"

"She was basically burning Flash not even a minute ago and now she's so professional-looking, that's awesome." Yasmin whispered to Jason.

Jason nodded and whispered back, "It's like earlier didn't happen at all."

(Y/n)'s back was straight, hands clasped in front of her, chin lifted just a bit, and her expression was mild. She made eye contact with Sarah and her eyes were calm. No one could tell she was livid just a moment ago.

Sarah smiled, "Indeed it is, Miss Stark! We know you will be punctual as you always are. If you would just follow me."

They followed Sarah to a meeting room of sorts on the floor where a small group of people, mostly wearing intern badges, were standing in front of the room. In the middle of the room was a big table surrounded by chairs, which they were asked to sit on. (Y/n) sat on the back of the room, leaning against the wall.

"Once again, welcome to Stark Industries' Marketing Department!" Sarah exclaimed.

"We have some of our team members who will join us in learning about our department here," she gestured at the group of people beside her who waved at the students, "and I promise we're all friendly here, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Let's begin now, shall we?"

One of them, a man in his early thirties with an employee badge, thanked Sarah before opening their presentation.

"Hey guys, my name is Roberto Salvatore, Advertising Manager. Let's start with…"

(Y/n) tuned out once Roberto started the PowerPoint slides. She already knew everything about their Marketing Department, Pepper made sure of it.

* * *

_"This is so boring." (Y/n) lamented as she slouched on the table, a tall stack of paper sitting in front of her innocently._

_Peter, who was doing his homework, looked at the dejected figure beside him. "Can't help it, you're going to take over the company one day, after all."_

_"But why do I have to read all of this now?" She pouted. "Why would I need to know every single detail about marketing! I bet dad didn't even know any of this when he was CEO."_

_"To be fair, he did admit he was a shitty CEO."_

_(Y/n) grumbled, "Not helping."_

_Peter let out a laugh and gently ruffled (y/n)'s hair, (y/n) halfheartedly swatting his hand away._

_"Hey, Pete."_

_"Hm?"_

_She turned her head, now her cheek was pressing against the table and she could look at him directly. "If I don't want to take over SI, will you?"_

_He tilted his head slightly and looked back into her eyes. "It's called Stark Industries, (y/n). It belongs to Starks."_

_"I'm dad's only child, as far as we know. Maybe in the future I'll have a younger sibling, but if I don't or we don't want to, who will take over then?" She wondered. "And I know I won't be able to manage the whole company alone. I'm not like Pepper. She always said I'm so much like dad, and you know how he is."_

_Peter dropped his pen in favor of holding (y/n)'s hand and squeezing it._

_"You know Mr. Stark won't force you if you don't want to."_

_(Y/n) gave a non-committal hum._

_"And you know I'll always have your back."_

_(Y/n) gave another hum._

_"So if you ever need help, I'm always available."_

_(Y/n) suddenly sat up and stared at him with wide eyes. "Wait, you said that Stark Industries belong to Starks only, didn't you?"_

_"…Yeah?"_

_She grinned mischievously. "If you marry me, you can take my last name and be a Stark so you can take the company too!"_

_"WHAT IS THIS ABOUT MARRIAGE?" Tony's loud voice boomed, saving the now red and speechless Peter from having to form any sort of reply._

_"_ PORCO CANE _! YOU'RE STILL CHILDREN AND WHO SAID I'M EVER ALLOWING YOU TO MARRY-"_

* * *

(Y/n) spent the time working on her newest project schematics through her phone, sometimes looking up when a discussion topic seems interesting. Despite Flash's remark earlier, the group was actually interested in and was invested through the presentation, throwing questions related to the topic here and there. The marketing team had prepared some quizzes related to the presentation and answering students now had a gift bag with them.

"That's a wrap, guys! Let's give an applause for our marketing team!" Sarah clapped her hands, prompting the others to follow.

Realizing the presentation was over, (y/n) glanced at the clock on her phone before putting it away and moved to the front of the room.

"We still have some time before lunch, so I might as well tell you things about the tower I forgot to earlier. Is it okay if we use the room for a bit, Mrs. Keynes?"

"Of course!"

"Thank you."

As the marketing team left the room, (y/n) turned on the projection and put in her credentials. Anyone could access their account from anywhere in the building as long as a capable device was available. This was for the sake of convenience.

(Y/n) found the file she was looking for and accessed it. A hologram of the tower sprung out in the middle of the table, making the group awed.

"You are currently in Stark Industries Headquarter here in Stark Tower. This tower was previously named Avengers Tower, but after the team's fall out, dad sold it. There were complications-" She stopped, frowning.

"Didn't the Vulture's daughter go to your school?"

Some of them squirmed uncomfortably on their chairs.

"Liz was our senior before she moved to Oregon." Betty answered softly. Memories of Liz still hurt her sometimes. She was good friends with her, after all.

Of course, (y/n) actually already knew this.

* * *

_"Pete, hey, look at me. Come on."_

_Grunting, he slowly opened his eyes despite his pounding head that screamed at him to just pass the hell out. He squinted; the soft light emitting from the park's lighting was somehow blinding to him. He didn't notice that it was drizzling until a few drops slid down from his eyebrows._

_"(Y/n)…?"_

_(Y/n) smiled at him. "Hey. Let's get you out of here, okay?" She spoke softly, careful of his senses._

_Her words made him realize where he was. "How did you find me?" He asked, voice raspy._

_"That's for later. Come on, can you climb down?"_

_Without replying, Peter gently held (y/n) close to him and jumped down. (Y/n) didn't let out any sound, as if she already guessed Peter was going to do that._

_She led him to a car she stole from her dad and strapped him in before reaching for a towel and a soft blanket on the backseat. She gave him the blanket and used the towel to rubbed his hair slowly._

_Peter was quiet as he let her dry him. He wasn't drenched; the sky was kind enough not to give a storm and gently pour some droplets instead. Still, he was thankful for the blanket warming him._

_Once satisfied with her work, (y/n) threw the towel back to the backseat, went into the driver's seat, and drove away._

_"Do you want to tell me what happened?"_

_Peter looked out the window, sighing heavily. His whole body ached. The pounding in his head hadn't gone away. He was almost 100% sure that he had a concussion._

_"Aren't you supposed to be in homecoming right now?" (Y/n) asked again, stealing glances at him while trying to still focus on the road._

_For a moment, Peter didn't reply. (Y/n) didn't pester him and kept driving in silence._

_"He's her dad."_

_"Hm?"_

_"The Vulture. He's Liz's dad."_

_(Y/n) glanced at him. He looked dead tired. And hurt._

_"Liz? The girl you have a crush on?"_

_Peter nodded slightly. "He hijacked Mr. Stark's moving plane. I had to stop him."_

_"And you did."_

_"Yeah, I did…" He trailed off. "But why don't I feel good about it?"_

_Nobody said anything._

* * *

"Yeah, anyways, he tried to steal our moving cargo and Spider-Man stopped him. Dad then realized it was more of a hassle to leave this tower since it's powered by the arc reactor."

The hologram zoomed at the bottom of the tower, showing the huge arc reactor beneath.

"People would actually kill for its blueprints, you know?" She shook her head. "So he bought this tower back and made it the headquarter for SI. This tower has 100 floors, because dad likes the even number, and top 5 floors are private residential area and private labs."

The group started murmuring amongst themselves. _Private residential area?_

"When I said residential, I mean it. We live here when we're not out of the city, it's convenient. Of course, dad still has several other houses, but personally, I like this tower the best."

 _Because it's closer to Peter_ , she thought.

Besides the arc reactor, one of the reasons Tony had bought the tower back was for Peter. He realized that he couldn't stop the kid from being Spider-Man, with or without the suit. Helping keeping him safe was the least he could do, and if having Stark Tower means easier for Peter to reach when he needed something, then Stark Tower shall remain.

It had nothing to do with (y/n) blowing up at him for taking Peter's protection ( _the suit, not something else, you dirty minded_ ) and asking (forcing) him to be more active in their mentorship.

Nothing at all.

( _Besides, Tony had also developed a soft spot for Peter. He looked at the boy and saw a much better version of himself._ )

"The floors are divided into the departments; Marketing, Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, Legal, and Research and Development. Other departments like Production and Purchasing are on other branches of SI. Most branches have R&D labs because dad, as I quote, _will go crazy if he doesn't have any lab to mess around after a shareholders meeting_." She rolled her eyes.

(Y/n) swiped away at the hologram, effectively shutting it down. "Okay, that's it. Now let's go get lunch."

* * *

The cafeteria was bustling. (Y/n) told them they had $40 inside their badge and they could buy any food they wanted from the cafeteria simply by swiping their badge to pay.

"Gather in front of the elevator at 1.30 PM on the dot. Now go eat."

As the group dispersed, she headed back to the elevator and asked FRIDAY to take her to the top floor.

A voice called out her name when she stepped out from the elevator.

"(Y/n)!"

For the first time that day, (y/n) let her lips curved up to a genuinely pleased smile.

Peter was sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, a messy sandwich in his hands and soot on his cheek. His clothes were clean, although his hair was dirty with dust and she could smell something burnt. He must had changed his clothes. It wasn't hard to figure out what he had been up to as he did tell her he was messing up with DUST earlier.

Something must had blown up.

"What did you explode today, Mr. Scientist?" She asked playfully.

"Nothing!"

(Y/n) raised an eyebrow, still smiling.

"…I connected wrong wires when trying to fix DUST's heat sensor."

Chuckling, she shook her head amusedly and made her way to the sofa. Peter handed him a wrapped sandwich after she sat down which she accepted gladly.

"How's your presentation going?" Peter asked between bites.

(Y/n) peeled the sandwich wrapping away, showing the gorgeous rib sandwich practically dripping with warm barbecue sauce. The smell was _heavenly._

She took a big bite, moaning quietly as the flavor burst on her tongue.

"I love ribs." She mumbled, still chewing.

After she swallowed, she heaved a sigh. "Presentation was boring. I still have some to do after this, but really, it just feels like a waste of time."

Peter hummed thoughtfully. "What is it about anyway?"

(Y/n), already prepared to answered any questions that he might shoot her, answered easily with a lie, "That upcoming high school internship program dad came up with."

Peter stopped chewing. "That's real?" He asked, frowning.

"Of course it's real!"

"I thought it was just a joke or something to cover my alibi…"

(Y/n) stopped chewing as well and put down her sandwich. "You know, I'm not supposed to tell you this yet," she started slowly, "but dad is planning on making you the head of internship program."

If (y/n) hadn't anticipated it and held a hand in front of Peter, his sandwich would've flown away with how hard he practically jumped out of his seat.

" _WHAT?!_ "

"You're his first of his only two personal interns, who also happen to be the only two interns of SI still in high school. He said it's an obvious choice, to make sure the upcoming high school interns will be more comfortable." She explained, putting Peter's sandwich on the table in front of them. "Pepper agrees with him, so there's that."

Peter's eyes were wide.

"No, no, that's an awful decision!" He stammered. "I'm not leader material! I barely even know what I'm doing! I-I'll mess it up!"

"Pete-"

"You saw me! I blew DUST up because I connected wrong wires! That's such a newbie mistake! And what about Spider-Man? I barely have enough time now, I'll neglect my responsibilities!"

"Hey-"

"And my school! Nobody believe I'm an intern in the first place, but head of program?! Principal Morita will have my head for _lying extensively_! They already disregard my internship papers anyway-"

(Y/n) pulled Peter down to sit back on the sofa and gently grasp his chin.

"Hey, look at me."

He did.

"Remember what you told me when I said I can't take care of SI alone?"

Peter didn't answer, but his eyes that looked back at (y/n)'s had calmed down slightly.

"I'll always have your back. So if you ever need help, I'm always available." (Y/n) smiled at him. "You don't have to worry about messing up, Pete. You're not doing it alone. Harley will take the position with you and I'll always help if you need me."

Peter sagged on the sofa, crossing his arms. "Still…"

"Also," (y/n) scowled, "this time I'll make sure they believe you, so now worries for that one."

"What do you mean?"

(Y/n) only smirked at him, offering no explanation. "Finish your sandwich, Spidey. I have to go downstairs soon."

Slightly grumbling, Peter reached for his sandwich. "Oh, where's Harley, by the way? I haven't seen him today." He asked before biting into his sandwich again.

"I think he said he wanted to mess around in R&D today."

"Maybe I should visit him later."

* * *

When (y/n) went back downstairs after leaving a pouty Peter with a peck on his cheek, she was greeted with the sight of Ned massaging his shoulder with a grimace amongst his friends. She was actually familiar with Ned and MJ's faces, having seen their pictures whenever Peter told her about his school day. Keeping her dad's words about formality in mind, she didn't show her familiarity at all.

Although now Ned was acting weird. She knew that gesture meant he hurt his shoulder, but what happened during the short time she wasn't there to supervise?

"Mr. Harrington," she called the startled teacher, "is everyone accounted for?"

"Y-Yes, Miss Stark. We're all here and ready to continue."

"Anyone needs bathroom breaks before we leave?"

Several of them lifted their hands.

(Y/n) looked around before catching an intern's eyes.

"Hey! Uh, Miss Macready!"

The intern looked surprised like a deer caught in headlights. Maybe she didn't expect to be called out by her name by the company owner's daughter that day.

She approached (y/n) hesitantly. "Yes, Miss Stark?"

(Y/n) was pleased when she saw her intern badge and found out that she knew the intern's name. She remembered seeing her around when she was in Finance Department.

"Can you show these students to the closest bathroom? I need to address something right now."

"Right away, Miss Stark."

The Finance Department intern, Mindy Macready, beckoned the students to follow her, leaving (y/n) and a handful of the leftover students in front of the elevator. Mr. Harrington had gone with the rest.

Seeing the students were occupied with talking amongst themselves, (y/n) moved closer to Ned who was still massaging his shoulder and talking with MJ in hushed voices.

"Mr. Leeds."

Ned turned around quickly, expression not unlike Mindy when (y/n) called her earlier.

"(Y/n) Stark knows my name…" He muttered in disbelief.

Ignoring his mumbling, (y/n) asked, "What happened to your shoulder?"

He hadn't even gotten over his surprise of (y/n) knowing his name, but now she noticed his pain?

Ned could only gape, leaving MJ to respond, "A kid in our class is a jerk."

(Y/n) narrowed her eyes in displeasure. "And does this kid called himself _Flash_?" She sneered.

At this point, MJ wasn't surprised that (y/n) had known about Flash. She deduced that Peter must have told her a lot more than just Flash anyway, so she only nodded curtly.

"You don't have to tell me what happened, I'll find out later. Thank you, Miss Jones."

(Y/n) took them to visit Legal Department where the Director, a surprisingly young man on his late 20s or early 30s named Isaac Latimer-Reed, talked to them briefly about what his department deal with. SI's Legal Department didn't only handle cases related to their products and company name; SI had included legal aid in each of their employee's contract. Tony had put some of his best lawyers to work in the company instead of just for himself. Shall an employee ever find themselves in a situation where they needed legal aid but couldn't afford it, SI had their backs.

"So if someone is in a fight with her husband or something, you can help them, I don't know, divorce him?" Flash asked with a frown. _Why something so trivial?_ He had thought. "Isn't that against privacy?"

"It's not something that simple." Isaac said. "What if that fight results in violence? What if one of them had lifted a hand against the others? Our employees are free to talk to us and give us enough reason to make a case. We had freed quite a number of our employees from their abusive family simply after they just told us what happened."

Isaac smirked, "They didn't stand a chance against us. No matter how hard you try to hide a rotten core, the smell will always escape."

His dark expression made the students gulped and stepped back a bit.

(Y/n), on the other hand, smirked alongside Isaac.

She had always liked the man. He was quite a shrewd man who wouldn't stop pursuing "justice". That was how he got to such a high position despite his young age. Tony knew he needed someone sharp who could be ruthless in his Legal Department, and Isaac was the perfect candidate.

"We are against violence here in SI." (Y/n) said out loud, gaining their attention, "Any kind of abuse or bullying is not tolerated. Whether it's verbal or physical, direct or implied, we do not accept such behavior." She glanced at Flash who definitely had a sweat rolling down the side of his neck.

After some Q&A session, (y/n) thanked Isaac for his time and led the group away.

"Miss Stark?" Zoha called out. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but can we get some water before proceeding, please?" She asked, Yasmin nodding beside her.

"Follow me."

They stopped by the closest kitchenette. As she promised, it was fully stocked. For a small kitchen in an office, it was quite bizarre to see baskets of chocolates, cookies, and snacks beside plates of fruits and nuts. A coffee and tea station on the side of a big fridge and a juicer and blender beside it didn't seem quite… _right_ either.

"You can eat and drink whatever you want but finish it here. We're heading to the labs after this."

She let them snacked around in the kitchenette for less than 10 minutes before whisking them away.

"We have a lot of R&D labs." (Y/n) explained, "In this tower alone, R&D span from 61st Floor to 80th. Each department usually have 10 floors max, but since dad is biased, R&D got more attention."

"Excuse me, Miss Stark?" Charles called. (Y/n) looked at him, waiting. "What does R&D interns do? Are they classified to do experiments by themselves?"

"Not really." She answered. "Level 1 interns mostly make reports and do research with or for their supervisor. Sometimes they'll get to help with the fun part, but that's for level 2 interns, usually."

"And level 2 interns?"

"Product testing, chemical experiments, engineering trials, they're allowed to do them all under supervision or with their supervisor's permission. Level 3 interns don't need supervision, but they still have to report."

The elevator dinged.

"Come on."

The floor they were at was spacious. Unlike the offices with their rooms and sections, the lab was mostly just open space with tables and cabinets. On the far end of the room was glass doors leading to testing rooms, while on the other end was a white door leading to the floor's supervisors.

"Welcome to Medic Lab!" A man in his 40s greeted them with a smile. He was tall and lanky with dark hair and equally dark eyes with laugh lines around them.

"This is Dr. Henry Clark, this lab's Assistant Director. He'll be Director soon though." (Y/n) introduced. "Dr. Clark, Midtown Science and Tech."

Henry blinked in surprise. "Midtown? Isn't that-"

"Yeah, it is." (Y/n) cut him off.

"Is he here?"

(Y/n) shook her head, "No, he's upstairs. He's going to T04E later, I think."

"Bring him here sometimes, will you? We're extremely grateful that you're here a lot, but we need _both_ your brains sometimes too, you know!" He laughed. (Y/n) only smiled at the man.

Being very interested in the health department, (y/n) spent a long time in this particular lab. Unlike Peter who was more into engineering, although he did help out in various labs sometimes.

"Who are they talking about?" Abe whispered.

Henry turned to the confused students, "As Miss Stark said, my name is Henry Clark and this is Medic Lab 01. We focus on the medic field in this lab, especially on the chem side. Medicines, to put it simply."

He brought them further inside, passing through several scientists having heated discussion over a white board filled with numbers and equations.

"While focusing on pure chemistry, we also work closely with the lab above us which focus on chemical engineering. Sometimes with H03BE too, but they're more likely to work with people from Tech Labs instead of us." He stopped in front of a table filled with equipment and solutions where 2 interns were waiting for them.

"What is H03BE?" Ned asked.

"Oh, sorry, that's the code for labs!" Henry apologized. "That one is also medic lab, but for biomedical engineering."

"How about this lab?"

"What does the code stand for?"

"This lab is H01C, because this is the first lab in 'health' department and we play with chemicals. Only scientists and interns in R&D use them though, since it's more just to make reports easier to categorize."

"Officially, this is just Medic-1." (Y/n) added.

They gathered around the table. "Currently, we're trying to find a breakthrough in our Alzheimer's disease cure and how to deal with autoimmune issues. We almost got it, really." Henry continued.

"I'm still most excited for the cancer research though." An intern with fire red hair said with a grin.

"We're going to a little fun test with you guys to see your potential! Maybe you're good enough to be an intern here and might get scouted!" Another intern with cropped black hair exclaimed.

"What do you mean by scouted?" Cindy asked.

(Y/n) spoke before Henry or the interns answered, "I will explain that later, it's part of this trip program."

When (y/n) had told Peter she had presentation for the internship program, it wasn't exactly a full-on lie. SI planned on scouting students from field trips and it just so happened that the owner's daughter was guiding one. She was supposed to explain it on the last session.

The group looked at each other with grins. A chance to be an intern in SI? Hell yes!

"You're the boss, Stark." Henry grinned. "Let's begin, shall we?"

It was a simple enough test. They were given written reactions such as (2C12H22CaO14 \+ O2 → 22H2O + 21C + 2CaO + 3CO2) and they had to figure out which chemical solution it applied to and conduct it. Being from STEM school, most of them could figure their reaction out, although some who clearly didn't pay attention in chem class struggled. Finding out which solution was easy, but how to make it react?

Ned grinned as grey snake-like foam rose from his heated calcium gluconate. So far, he was the fastest guy to successfully figure out his reaction, only being beaten by Zoha.

"You're fast!" Henry said as he looked at Ned's petri dish. "Can you explain what you did?"

"Yeah, it's simple." Ned answered. "C12H22CaO14 is formula for calcium gluconate, and it reacts with O2; oxygen. But calcium gluconate doesn't just automatically react with oxygen. It was completely fine touching air before we started, so I heated it up and it reacted."

"Very good." Henry complimented with a smile. "Now do you know why it becomes like this?"

"The molecular structure expands due to the heat. This grey foam formed because any water contained inside vaporized and hydroxyl groups within the compound were dehydrated."

"And in conclusion?"

"Calcium gluconate rapidly decomposes after being heated."

"Great job!" Henry complimented again. Ned thanked him happily before Henry moved on to MJ who created a bright blue flash and loud sound that sounded like woofing, shocking Jason beside her.

MJ grumbled under her breath, "Out of all things, they just have to give me nitrogen monoxide and carbon disulfide to burn."

As Ned took pictures of his grey foam (after Henry said he could, of course), (y/n) stood beside him and peered at the petri dish.

"That was quick. I thought you're more into coding."

Thankfully, this time Ned could hold his surprise and just grinned at the girl. "Chemistry is fun when it's actually conducted and not just lectured on. How do you know I like coding?"

"Peter told me about you and Miss Jones." (Y/n) answered simply.

"You can just call me Ned and her Michelle, you know." Ned said. "A friend of Peter's is a friend of ours too. He talked about you a lot."

(Y/n) flushed a bit, "He did?"

"Yeah! It's as though we know you already!" He chuckled.

She silently glanced at the grinning boy.

_Maybe I should try to make more friends…_

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Flash frowning at his paper while grabbing cesium and-

_Is that water? Wait-_

Before Flash could drop the alkali metal into a flask of water, (y/n) quickly reached her hand out.

_CLINK!_

A loud clink sound echoed as water dripped down from the table to the floor, stopping Flash from dropping the cesium.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" (Y/n) yelled.

Everyone in the room halted.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU PUT THAT IN WATER?!" She yelled again, eyes glowing with anger.

"Uh, I…" Flash mumbled out. His eyes moved quickly from (y/n)'s furious face to the small petri dish with cesium in his hand.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR HAND RIGHT NOW?! HUH?!"

"It's, uh, it's iron salt…?"

(Y/n)'s face grew even redder as she tried to held back her anger.

Henry approached them and gently took the petri dish away from Flash who was shaking with fear. "This is cesium, young boy. It reacts violently with water. If you had combined the two, that glass flask would explode and hurt you." He explained.

(Y/n) snatched the paper containing the reaction assigned to Flash and scoffed, "You were supposed to form valence oxide and took cesium? _Cazzo_! Do you pay attention in class?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO MIX FERROUS AND FERRIC IN BASIC SOLUTION! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW IRON SALT IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE?!"

Trying to calm the girl down, Henry patted her shoulder, "Calm down, Stark. This is also my fault for including cesium on the table. Everyone is okay, that's the important thing."

"But what if I didn't notice what he held, Dr. Clark? What then? His parents may have signed the papers allowing him here and swearing not to blame us for accidents, but you and I know those papers mean little to parents whose children are hurt!"

(Y/n) snapped her eyes back to Flash, "You're from STEM school, for fuck's sake! And you're in this decathlon team! You're supposed to be _smart_ ," she emphasized, "yet you can't do this simple experiment?!"

Flash, clearly offended, snapped back, "It's not my fault that you put unsafe things here! What kind of work environment is this?! You just put danger on my life and I can sue you for this!"

"Flash!" Mr. Harrington tried to scold, but (y/n) had grown even angrier.

" _VAFFANCULO!_ " She shouted angrily as she took a step closer to him, the anger in her eyes looked so close to snapping.

And maybe she would have done something to Flash if the lab's sliding door didn't suddenly open and Harley hurriedly rushed in and held (y/n)'s arm back.

"Whoa there, calm down, Princess Stark." Harley soothed, "FRIDAY told me there was almost an incident and I heard you screaming your favorite Italian word, so what happened?"

"Why don't you ask this _figlio di puttana_?!" (Y/n) gritted out, although the glow in her eyes had started to settle.

Mr. Harrington quickly grabbed Flash who was just opening his mouth to retort back and put him behind his back with a quick glare, warning him not to say anything stupid.

"I apologize, Miss Stark, I truly do, please forgive him! I'll make sure he won't do anything stupid anymore!" He bowed his head.

Knowing (y/n) was still too pissed off to say something _intellectual_ , Harley answered, "I'm sure it can be forgotten. It's okay. Can someone tell me what happened, though? I might have to report this upstairs later…"

Henry sighed, "The young man almost put cesium in water, but (y/n) stopped him."

Harley nodded, "Okay, and?"

"What do you mean, 'and'?"

The sandy-haired teen snorted, "There's no way (y/n) would just tell this guy to _go fuck himself_ if she stopped him in time."

"Flash mouthed back, saying he would sue SI or something." MJ interrupted.

Realization dawned on Harley and he nodded again. "Yeah, that sure can pissed Princess Stark off."

When he turned his glance on (y/n), her face had lost almost all of its redness and her eyes were no longer glowing, but he could still see repressed anger in them.

"Do you want me to take over?" He asked gently. "Peter is in T04E, do you want to go there instead?" He asked again, murmuring softly.

(Y/n) heaved a heavy sigh and rest her forehead on Harley's shoulder. "It's fine, I can continue." She mumbled. "We're scheduled to go to T04E after this anyway."

"Alright, alright." Harley patted her head. "Want me to come with you?"

Feeling her nodded against his shoulder, Harley cleared his throat. "Alright then, let's forget about what happened here and move on, shall we? Dr. Clark?"

"Ah, yes," the good man stepped closer to them and clasped his hand, "that's all for today, everyone. Good job on your work! I hope I'll see you again, maybe as an intern or even an employee here someday."

The group hesitantly chorused a thank you before Mr. Harrington hurriedly ushered them out from the lab to follow Harley and (y/n) and before long, they were back in the elevator again.

"Okay guys, we're heading to Tech Lab now!" Harley said cheerfully. "It's one of my favorites, if I'm being honest! This particular one, especially."

"Why? What's in the lab?"

"He's just allowed to make things explode. Can't do that in medic-researching labs." (Y/n) said shortly.

Harley just grinned at her.

The elevator opened.

"Welcome to Tech-04, guys!"

Unlike Medic-01, Tech-04 was more… _chaotic._

Medic-01 was relatively quiet, maybe some discussion here and there with liquid upon liquid sloshing around. Sometimes small pops when wrong solutions were mixed. Tech-04, on the other hand, was filled with a lot of noise.

Someone was groaning and then grumbling at a circuit board in front of them, a solder whirring ( _should it even whir?_ ) on their hand.

Two people were arguing loudly over hologram displaying blueprints.

Another person was hitting a small bot with what looked like a small hammer, making loud clanging sound every hit.

Some tools were accidentally dropped, the metal hitting floor sound followed by a loud ' _sorry!_ '.

Heavy machines made weird noises that sound so unfamiliar to a high schooler's ears.

Harley and (y/n) walked in, unbothered by all the noises around them. The group flinched at sudden noises, but they followed the two silently.

"Usually we take tour groups to Tech-01, but they're doing something classified right now." Harley explained. "Since you guys are from STEM school, we thought Tech-04 is the best place to visit since every cool stuff happens here." He grinned.

" _Holy shit are those arrows?!_ " Tyler screeched out.

"Those were supposed to be Hawkeye's prototype multifunction arrows, but after the Accord debacle, Tony dumped them."

"What's that?" Cindy pointed at black bracelets on a display. "It looks like normal bracelets…"

"Black Widow's widow bites." (Y/n) answered.

Cindy tilted her head, "Bites?"

"Electroshock weapon."

"W-Weapon?"

"You just saw Hawkeye's weapon, what makes Black Widow's surprise you?" (Y/n) scoffed, still feeling irritated from before.

"W-Well…"

"Tech-04 is the _best_ lab because a lot of Avengers weapons were designed here!" Harley exclaimed. "Almost all of them had something that came out from this lab sans Tony because he doesn't like people touching his stuff. A bit stuck up, isn't he?" He chortled.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at him. "Can't help it. The last time he trusted his stuff with someone, Stane dealt him a bad hand."

"Not true, the last time was when he left JARVIS with me!" Harley argued.

"That was because he had no choice, dumbass."

"Still counts!"

"Sure."

Sniffling, Harley turned away from the girl.

"Anyway, we have another test for you all! You got tested in Medic-01 to see your chemistry knowledge, here in Tech-04 we'll see your engineering skill!"

They gathered around a big white table, scraps and tools scattered on top.

"Nothing hard, just make a simple bot in 20 minutes. You can use everything on this table. Don't forget to name them, we'll take a look and judge them. Who knows, maybe someone will like your work and want to scout you."

"Time starts now!"

Harley left the group who immediately began working and stood a little to the side with (y/n).

"How are you feeling?" He murmured.

(Y/n) tilted her head up, softly hitting her head against the wall behind her. "Still a bit annoyed, to be honest. That little piece of shit." She grumbled.

"I feel like I've seen him before."

"That's Flash, Harls."

" _Flash?_ " Harley turned to her, startled. " _That_ Flash? The one Peter talked about?"

She nodded.

"Well… Fuck."

"Fuck, indeed."

For a moment, they stood there in silence, watching their assigned group tinkering with various tools while chattering within each other. (Y/n)'s eyes followed Flash's every movement like a hawk.

"I think he did something to Leeds earlier." She mumbled.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but Jones confirmed it."

Harley hummed and looked around. His eyes caught a tablet sitting on top of a cabinet near them. He pushed himself away from the wall.

"Wait here."

He approached the cabinet and grabbed the tablet before going back to (y/n).

The tablet, a standard StarkPad issued for every department in SI, was locked with password. They easily unlocked it with the lab's code.

Harley quickly accessed FRIDAY with his credentials.

"FRI?"

" _How can I help you, Harley?_ " Her voice came out from the tablet.

"Can you show us security footage from- when was it again?"

(Y/n) snorted.

"Don't laugh! You didn't tell me!" Harley complained indignantly.

"Footage on the trip group after lunch please, FRI."

" _Right away, (y/n)._ "

* * *

_"Hey, fatso!"_

_Ned and MJ didn't respond, continuing eating their lunch in peace._

_And that peace was interrupted when Flash clasped Ned's shoulder and pulled him back hard, making him fell from the backless chair. "When I call you, I expect an answer!" He sniggered._

_Unluckily for the two, Mr. Harrington was in line waiting for his meal, completely missing the exchange._

_MJ quickly stood up and pushed him away to help Ned. "What the hell, Flash?!" MJ exclaimed angrily._

_"Not my fault he's so heavy he can't stand gravity pulling him down." Flash snickered._

_"Why you-"_

_"It's fine, MJ." Ned assured, putting a hand on her arm. "What do you want, Flash?" He asked tiredly._

_Flash ignored MJ's heated glare (an amazing feat, really) and smirked at Ned. "Why haven't we heard anything about Parker, huh? If he's really an intern someone would've said something, right? Especially since we're from the same school."_

_Ned rolled his eyes._

_"We only visited the Museum, Flash. Do you think he works there? He's probably in the labs a lot."_

_"Pfft, there's no way he's in the labs! That fucker can't even do anything right! The only thing he can work as is probably a janitor or something."_

_He reached out and gripped Ned's shoulder, nails sinking into the muscles tightly, ignoring Ned's wince. "So how about you stop lying and tell us the truth, hm? You're just embarrassing yourselves."_

_Already fed up, MJ grabbed Flash's wrist and forcefully removed his clutch on Ned's shoulder. "How about_ you _stop bothering us, huh? Why are you so obsessed with Peter anyway? You in love with him or something?" She hissed out._

_"I'm just saying that people deserve the truth after hearing stupid lies over and over again!" He snatched his hand back, huffing indignantly. "Fucking Penis Parker…_

_"You're the one spreading the news, Flash. Peter never really said anything." Ned mumbled, one hand massaging his sore shoulder. He could actually feel nails indent through his shirt. Flash's grip was just too tight._

_"Oh shut up." Flash scoffed and finally left them._

* * *

"I'm going to kill him."

"(Y/n)…"

"Don't stop me, Harley."

The angry glow on her eyes returned, this time even brighter. Her (e/c) eyes almost looked like neon blue. Her face was completely blank, only the wide glowing eyes showing just how much _anger_ she was feeling.

Harley held unto her shoulders and crouched down slightly to match her eye level. "Calm down, (y/n). Your eyes are glowing."

" _As they should._ "

"No, they shouldn't!" He whispered-shouted. "Come on. Take a deep breath."

(Y/n) gritted her teeth.

_CLINK!_

"My bad." Zach said, reaching down to take a screwdriver that fell from the table.

_CLINK!_

Mr. Harrington frowned. "Did I knock it over?" He mumbled to himself, grabbing the fallen wrench.

_CLINK!_

"Shit, my pliers!"

_CLINK!_

_CLINK!_

_CLINK!_

_CLINK!_

"What-"

"An earthquake?!"

The table was shaking violently, throwing tools down to the floor. Above them, lights were flickering on and off.

Alarms started blaring.

"EVERYONE UNDER THE TABLE!"

"WATCH OUT FOR SHARP TOOLS!"

"COME ON GUYS MOVE IT!"

" _(Y/N) STOP IT!_ " Harley tried to shout between the panic screaming.

(Y/n)'s (e/c) eyes were now fully neon blue, glowing brightly in the dark room. She took a shuddered breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Harley…" She whispered. " _I_ _can't_."

* * *

_"How do you get used to your power?"_

_"Hmm?" Peter looked up from his on-going web fluid. "Practice, I guess…"_

_"What did you do?"_

_Peter put the flask on the table. "That depends on which power I try to control. Like my super strength, for example. I practiced juggling eggs and tomatoes without crushing them. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be."_

_(Y/n) hummed and looked up to the ceiling, contemplating._

_"How about you?" Peter asked._

_"Me?"_

_"Yeah. Hecate is always mindful of the children they saved. Their control is amazing."_

_"…That's Hecate. Not me."_

_Peter dropped his arms. He removed his gloves and walked towards the girl and plopped down beside her on the sofa._

_"We've talked about this, (y/n). Hecate is you and you are Hecate."_

_"Sure doesn't feel like it." (Y/n) mumbled._

_"Is it because of the pronoun?"_

_"Hm…"_

_He propped an arm on the backrest. "Didn't you come to the conclusion that you're bigender?"_

_"Yeah…" She sighed. "But that just makes Hecate feel more like a separate being than me."_

_"Why are they not you?"_

_(Y/n) removed her stare from the ceiling to Peter's face. "When I go out as Hecate, I don't… I don't feel like (y/n) Stark." She said softly. "When I don Hecate suit, I just… changed, I guess. Hecate feels like a different person. Hecate doesn't think like (y/n) Stark and they sure as hell doesn't act like (y/n) Stark."_

_Her voice dropped. "Their control over their curse is also better than (y/n) Stark's."_

_Peter shuffled closer to her and pulled her into an embrace. He buried his fingers into her hair, gently playing with them slightly. "Spider-Man feels like a different person too. But for me, I know that it's because of the mask." He murmured against the side of her hair. "Why do you think they feel different?"_

_"I'm not sure…"_

_"Also, it's not a curse, (y/n). It's a gift."_

_"A gift? Given by HYDRA?"_

_"Where it comes from doesn't matter. How you use them does."_

_"Yet I can't even use it without hurting someone as (y/n)."_

_Peter pulled back, looking straight into (y/n)'s (e/c) eyes. "How about this; if you ever feel like you're not in control of your power, you tell me. I'll try to help you."_

_"Can you?"_

_"We can try."_

* * *

(Y/n) kept her eyes firmly shut. She could hear everyone screaming in fear as everything in the room shook. Small tools even started to flew around, narrowly missing some people.

Harley tried to shout words of encouragement to calm her down, but to no avail.

It was only when his hands holding her shoulders were replaced by another pair and a familiar voice murmuring out her name did she finally open her eyes.

"Peter?"

"Hey, Hecate." He smiled.

She shook her head. "Not Hecate. This is (y/n). Hecate wouldn't lose control like this." She whispered.

"Listen," Peter said softly, "Hecate is in you, whether you feel like they are or not. Hecate _is_ you, (y/n). You can be both Hecate and (y/n) at the same time."

(Y/n) shook her head again.

"Close your eyes, (y/n)."

She did.

"Now think of the times you went out as Hecate. Recall those feelings. How did you know to stop when a child, bruised and hurt, was near you? How did you know not to harm them?"

And that was the thing with Hecate. They may have a violent nature when it came to despicable people who decided that taking a kid from their parents was a great money source, but when faced with said kid, they would cease all action. They may thirst for the blood of those people, but they would never harm a hair on a kid.

Because they knew what it was like to be that kid once.

* * *

_"And that's how I became Spider-Man." Peter concluded._

_"I wonder if that kind of spider still exist."_

_"Well I know that I killed the one that bit me."_

_(Y/n) snickered. "So your power comes from an experimented spider, huh?"_

_"Yep! And you?"_

_"Same as you."_

_"Experimented spider bit you?" Peter frowned._

_"Nah, they experimented on me instead of a spider."_

_"Wait what-"_

_She stretched her stiff shoulder. Sitting for too long did that to your muscles. "Where do you think I was before I live with dad?" She said nonchalantly. "HYDRA took me when I was about 6. Thought I was a great asset, really. Made me do lots of jobs too. Dad found me during a mission."_

_Peter almost choked on his own saliva. "W-Why did you never tell me?"_

_(Y/n) blinked. "You never asked." She deadpanned._

_After Peter regained his bearing, he braved himself to ask another question. "Where's your mom now?"_

_"Died."_

_He almost choked for the second time._

_"Dad didn't know I'm his daughter, so he tried to track my mom. Turns out she died a few months after I was kidnapped, so, yeah."_

_"(Y/n)…"_

_"I guess that's why kidnapping cases irked me so much." (Y/n) hummed thoughtfully. "Children don't deserve that kind of horror. I remember being so scared those first few weeks."_

* * *

As he guided her through breathing exercises, the shaking around her finally started to cease as her heartbeat slowed down.

(Y/n) opened her eyes to find Peter's own warm brown eyes looking straight to hers. "How are you?" He asked softly.

She bit her lower lip and hung her head in shame.

"Hey, come on, eyes up here, Princess Stark." Peter lifted her chin up.

"…I haven't lost control like that since years ago." She murmured. She didn't dare to even steal a glance at Peter's face. She kept her eyes down to the floor, letting the shame fill her.

"(Y/n)-"

"What the fuck is Penis Parker doing here?!"

Peter turned his head, finally seeing his decathlon team for the first time. "What the-"

"And what the fuck was that?! It doesn't feel like earthquake! What kind of freak shit is this?!"

Peter was about to speak when he felt (y/n)'s shoulder shaking under his hand. Eyes widened, he looked down at her only to find her already glaring at Flash, eyes alarmingly glowing again.

So he did what he knew would definitely distract (y/n) from possibly killing his classmate.

Peter grabbed (y/n)'s cheeks and quickly pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

And distracted she was.

"You're,"

 _Peck_ ,

"Okay,"

 _Peck_ ,

"Just,"

 _Peck_ ,

"Ignore,"

 _Peck_ ,

"Him",

_Peck,_

"Alright?"

Finally pulling his face away, he could see (y/n) blinking owlishly at him. The glow in her eyes had gone, replaced by the beautiful (e/c) he loved.

He didn't bother to see how Flash or the rest of his teammates reacted to seeing him, the nerd of the group, openly kissing the infamous daughter of Tony Stark.

He did, however, registered Ned's delighted giggle and MJ's sigh.

Unfortunately, (y/n) seemed to still be aware of her surrounding and caught Flash's squawk.

(Y/n) closed her eyes and sighed. She side-eyed Flash with a slight glare.

And before Peter realized it, Flash was flung back to, thankfully, a chair behind him. It was still a hard shove and his back would be aching as hell, but at least it wasn't to (or even through!) the wall, Peter rationalized.

(Y/n) quickly removed Peter's hand on her cheeks and approached the now mildly terrified Flash. She grabbed the front of his collar.

Peter didn't stop her. Her eyes may seem brighter than normal, but the absence of neon blue glow was a good sign that she was in control. That was purely (y/n) Stark needing to vent her anger by threatening a bitch out and not Hecate. Peter knew better than to get between a woman's wrath and the object of her animosity, after all.

 _Yeah, a little threat wouldn't hurt, would it?_ , Peter thought amusedly. _He had it coming after all._

"Listen to me, _figlio di puttana_ ," she hissed out, face only inches away from Flash's, "if I ever see or even heard about you being a bag of shit like you are ever again, you won't know what's coming for you."

"I-"

"Don't ever say or even _think_ about Peter and anyone close to him anymore, you fucking hear me? You touch a hair on them, and the end of the world will seem _mild_ compare to what I would do."

Silence fell upon the room.

The trip group was still shaken over the 'quake', and add that to seeing their teammate got thrown back by an invisible force, they were just… stunned. They didn't even really register that Peter was in the same room as them. Aside from Flash, Ned, and MJ, at least.

"Well, this is a disaster."

Tony's voice rang in the lab, catching the attention of everyone in the room. He stood in front of the glass sliding doors, dressed in impeccable suit and wearing a pair of sunglasses despite the lack of sun in the lab.

His eyes swept upon the room. His employees seemed fine, just a bit surprised. They were already used to unforeseen incidents, he supposed. His interns slash pseudo-sons also seemed fine, if not a bit miffed. The group was still shocked, which was no shocker ( _pun intended_ ).

But then he saw his daughter in the middle of threatening someone, eyes wide and shining, teeth gritted.

He sighed.

At least he knew his scientists would be no problem. They had signed confidential agreement to keep everything happening while in work to themselves in their work contract, especially if it included any of the Starks. The group, on the other hand…

"People, remember your NDAs. You all, follow me." He gestured at the group before turning away.

After a few steps, he stopped as if he just remembered something and looked back, "Oh, and Pete? Take her upstairs, will you? Stay with her."

"Of course, Mr. Stark."

"Harls, come with me. I need the whole story."

Harley nodded but said nothing, prompting Tony to turned away again and started leaving.

"Come on, let's go." Harley told the group.

Ned worriedly made an eye contact with Peter, but Peter only shook his head.

Hesitantly, they started leaving, but not without throwing curious looks towards Peter who already pulled (y/n) back from Flash.

"Go now while you can, _faccia a culo_." (Y/n) jeered. "I can't promise your life if you don't."

Gulping, Flash hurriedly stood up and ran out of the labs.

Before following the group, Harley looked at Peter and (y/n). "Are you two going to be okay?" He asked.

(Y/n) didn't answer, but Peter slung an arm around her shoulder and held her close. "We'll be fine. Sorry for the interruption, Harley." Peter apologized.

"Nothing to be sorry of. Everything will be okay, so don't think too much about it, okay, Princess Stark?" Harley smiled at the girl.

(Y/n) nodded once.

With a final look between Harley and Peter, Harley left the lab to follow the group.

Peter gently held (y/n)'s hand and pulled her towards the private elevator. He took them to the penthouse, straight to her room.

Once inside, he sat her down on her bed.

"How are you feeling right now?"

(Y/n) sighed heavily.

"Mostly angry." She mumbled.

Peter hummed. He sat beside her, an arm behind her to sneak a hand and hold her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes tiredly.

"What happened?" He murmured.

Slowly, (y/n) started telling her story, from when she first went downstairs to meet the group until when Harley and her watched the footage.

"I've been on edge the whole day," she confessed, "and I guess that video just pushed the limit."

"It's not your fault, (y/n)."

(Y/n) scoffed, "Maybe not all, but part of it is. I couldn't control my power, Pete! That's just a recipe for disaster!" She yelled in frustration. "It's been _years_ since that happened! I thought I had this under control!"

Peter squeezed her hand. "Alright then. We'll train. We'll practice until you're absolutely sure you can use your power freely even as (y/n) Stark." He said with a smile.

"But how?"

"We'll figure it out."

Although not entirely satisfied with Peter's answer, she only nodded.

"By the way, why did _you_ lead the trip? I thought you said you had a presentation." Peter asked, changing the topic.

Rolling her eyes, (y/n) answered with a slight scoff, "I lost a bet to Harley."

* * *

Tony stood in front of the meeting room. Peter's decathlon team was all sitting in front of him, his teacher and bully included. Harley had told him about what happened earlier. Needless to say, Tony was not happy.

He had thought of Peter and Harley as his sons; his children aside from (y/n). The fact that Peter had something going on with (y/n) didn't matter, it was a bonus in his eyes. So knowing that Peter had to deal with a bully every day was not something he could really tolerate. Not to mention that said bully also angered his daughter enough to lose control.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He had asked Harley earlier.

"It wasn't my story to tell, Tony." Harley had answered.

His eyes swept across the room once more. He saw their teacher, Harrington, if he remembered correctly, was openly scolding Flash.

 _Good_ , he thought, _at least the teacher isn't just ignoring this problem._

"Alright!" Tony clapped his hand loudly. "Let's just keep this short, shall we? I'm supposed to be in a meeting right now and Pepper is not happy that I left."

His face turned serious. "Your parents signed NDAs for you to be here. You are not allowed to say anything about what you saw in this building to anyone, including your parents, or you will regret it. Even if we can't get to you directly, your parents are on the line here, and losing them would be a great loss for you, wouldn't it?"

Some of them gulped nervously. Flash just looked _terrified_.

"Just remember that I have better lawyers than you ever will. _Capisce_?"

Once he saw them hurriedly nodded, he grinned. "Okay then! I'll let you ask me questions now for compensation after that incident. Gotta take care of my daughter's problem, right?"

The group looked at each other, still miffed and hesitant to ask anything. They just got threatened to lose practically everything they had, after all.

However, Ned, who already had no intention to tell anyone about what happened thanks to Peter anyway, raised a hand.

"Yes, you, uhh… Fred!"

"It's Ned." Harley rolled his eyes. Tony pointedly ignored him.

Even wrong, Ned still felt joy in knowing that Tony knew him. "Hi, I was wondering about Harley's badge? Don't interns have half-white badges?"

Tony gestured at Harley to answer. "Well?"

Harley scoffed at Tony before answering, "Yeah, mine and Peter's are special badges since we're this dude's personal interns."

"Personal intern?" Abe chimed in, face curious.

"He's hopeless, trust me. This whole building would've burned if it weren't for us." Harley snickered, blatantly ignoring Tony who was glaring daggers at him.

"I'll let you know that I'm perfectly fine being alone in my lab." Tony huffed. "I've been doing it for years and I'm fine."

"Uh-huh, sure, old man."

Betty, pushed by Ned's nonchalance, raised a hand as well, "Mr. Stark? What is the requirement to be an intern here? Harley and Peter are our age, so does this mean we also qualify?"

Cindy also raised a hand, "Earlier we had tests in the labs. They said we can get scouted, is that true?"

"Ah yes, you were supposed to be given the internship program information at the end of the tour!" Tony said. "Basically, we have a new internship program for high school students. The interns will be handpicked by your 'test' results."

When Tony offered no other explanation, Harley added, "We just put the information on our web. Just go to Stark Industries' official website and click on the Internship Program. Sorry guys, you were supposed to get full session on this, but (y/n) was the one who had to give the presentation and she's not… available."

"Or Peter. He's one of the head of that programs after all. Wait," Tony stopped, looking at Harley incredulously, "you're the other head of the program. Why don't _you_ give the presentation?"

Harley only shrugged with a grin.

"How is Parker already an intern?" Flash asked in disbelief. "And _Head of Internship Program_?!" It seems that his terrified daze from earlier had dissipated, which was really quick. He was quite a thickhead, after all.

Tony squinted at him, scrutinizing. This kid just never stop, huh?

"I scouted him myself." He announced.

Flash was taken aback by Tony's nonchalant answer, but he pressed on, "But _why_?"

"Because he impressed me. Genius kid, really. Better than nearly everyone I've ever known. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." He quickly said, already losing any will to interact with children any longer.

Before he left, he did add, "Also, Mr. Thompson, is it? I'll have a meeting with your parents and the principal soon, so get ready."

Flash's eyes widened.

Once he left, the room erupted in chaos.

"What just happened?!"

"Peter is _really_ an intern!"

"Not just an intern, but already head of a program!"

"HE KISSED (Y/N) STARK OMG!"

"Who cares?! We almost died _again_!"

"But we might get to intern here too!"

"No, no, back up! We almost _died_! And by what?! What was that?!!"

"Wasn't it (y/n)?!"

"How did she do that?!"

"I don't know! But you saw what happened to Flash!"

"I guess (y/n) is Hecate then." Ned whispered to MJ. MJ nodded.

"She looked like she hated her power earlier." MJ muttered. "No wonder she snapped at you when you asked about Hecate."

"OKAY EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Harley shouted, trying to gain control over the group.

One by one, they started to quiet down.

"I suppose this is the end of your trip. Remember the NDAs; not a word!" He said, which the group answered with a chorus of yes. "Great! Now follow me to the lobby!"

* * *

" _You okay,_ _il mio tarassaco_?"

"I am now. Sorry about earlier, dad."

" _Nothing to worry about. I really have to go to meeting now, but we'll talk later, okay? Take it easy after this, maybe just sleep or mess around in your private lab, if you want to. Don't overexert your power._ "

(Y/n) smiled gratefully. The public may saw her father only as an egocentric hero, but she knew better. He always tried to be the best dad and she was grateful for it. Tony Stark wasn't a perfect dad, but he tried. He knew better than to be like his own father. Even if his daughter was an accident he only discovered a few years back, Tony knew there was little he wouldn't do for her.

"Okay. Love you, see you later."

" _Love you too._ "

As she ended the call, Harley rushed towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for putting you through that hell, Princess Stark! It was that stupid bet!"

"HARLEY I CAN'T BREATHE!"

Harley let her go with a sheepish grin. "Are you okay now?"

(Y/n) rolled her eyes. "Everyone asked me that. I'm fine. How's the situation?"

"Tony threatened them with the NDAs." He shrugged. "I don't think they really connect you to Hecate, but Ned definitely did."

She nodded in understanding. "Leeds is fine, I think… Peter trusts him."

"He won't tell anyone. But if he knows, MJ definitely does too." Peter piped in.

"You trust both of them, don't you?"

"Yeah, they're great."

(Y/n) smiled at him, "Maybe I should try befriend them then. Share my own secret like you did too."

Peter smiled back.

* * *

**Bonus:**

"Dude! You're the story of the year!"

"What?"

"Everyone's talking about you and (y/n) now!"

MJ sipped on her drink. "How is she anyway?"

"She's fine. Excited to meet you guys, actually." Peter answered.

"But we met her already?" Ned frowned.

"As a _friend_ , Ned."

"Ooh…"

For a moment, no one said anything as they chewed on their food. "Hey, so (y/n) is really Hecate, right?"

"Ned! Shh!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merda: shit  
> Cazzo: fuck  
> Vaffanculo: go fuck yourself  
> Figlio di puttana: son of a bitch  
> Faccia a culo: assface  
> Il mio tarassaco: my dandelion*
> 
> ——————————
> 
> I looked these terms online, so they may not be 100% accurate. I’m sorry if I make any mistake!
> 
> *My Dandelion: a few months ago, I got into doll customizing and decided to make my own (y/n) Stark into a doll form. When I plugged in her hair, it had poofed up like a dandelion and stayed like that for weeks while I worked on her face-up. I got used to calling her Dandelion after that. Because of this, I’ve been nicknaming (y/n) as Dandelion.

**Author's Note:**

> INSPIRATION NOTES
> 
> -Stark Tower Lobby: the description for the lobby is from actual buildings in Indonesia called Pacific Century Place and City Plaza, I mixed the two together.
> 
> -SI Features: the kitchenette and several other components in the industry are taken from Google Indonesia Office. I visited the office on January (my aunt works there) and it’s absolutely amazing. (so yes the kitchenette every 50 meters thing is REAL.)
> 
> -Avengers Museum: yeah, that’s kind of a staple in field trip trope, isn’t it…
> 
> -Badges: I actually made the badges in Photoshop because I was bored lmao I’ll post a link to my Tumblr when I post it before chapter 2
> 
> -Hecate: I’ll talk more about them in next part! They’re basically a vigilante OC of mine.


End file.
